The Drunkard

The Drunkard, written by Frank O'Connor, is by far my favorite short story read in class so far. This story entails the inner workings of a family's struggles and how sometimes the wrong decisions can lead to the best outcomes. I found it very interesting how accurately Frank was able to detail the way that a real alcoholic might fall back into struggle. This probably had to do with some sort of insight into his own life in one way or another, but nevertheless it remains impressive. The irony displayed throughout the story seems very out of place considering this should be a time of morning. It all began when Mr. Dooley, "Must reappear at our gate to give us the lowdown on the next world"(P3). This diction choice did not seem appropriate at all considering Mr. Dooley had just died! After this the actions and words spoken continued to reveal the author's intent to have parts of the story come across as humorous. He used the situational irony to bring the father to the understanding that his drinking was an issue. He also used dramatic irony when the father had not figured out that it was his son that drank the alcohol and not any thief. I knew that the son had drank, but the father had no idea!